Japanese insurer SOMPO Holdings completed its acquisition of 100% of the outstanding ordinary shares of Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. for an amount of $6.3 billion, effective March 28, 2017. Sompo International, based in Bermuda, is a newly formed entity that will include the integrated assets of Endurance. It will also include SOMPO’s existing international commercial […]
NY Cyber Security Rules Start March 1
Insurance companies operating in the state of New York will become subject to new cyber security regulations that take effect on March 1, 2017. New York is the first state to require insurers to report data breaches and protect customer information by encryption, access controls, and other mechanisms. The rules are in response to a […]
Restaurant Premises Liability Claims
Restaurant premises liability claims may slip and fall as consumers reportedly pull back from dining out. The number of restaurants dropped from a peak of 638,000 in 2014 to about 624,000 in 2016, according to an October, 2016 article in The Wall Street Journal titled “Restaurant Chains Get Burned by Overexpansion, New Rivals.” The decline […]
AIG and Zurich Throttle Back on Truck Insurance
“Nuclear verdicts” in trucking accidents have caused AIG and Zurich to pull back from providing truck insurance in the for-hire trucking fleet market, according to an October 15 article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Truckers Scramble to Get Insurance.” Both AIG and Zurich continue to cover truck fleets operated directly by retailers and manufacturers, […]
Litigation Funding: Tipping the Scales of Justice?
Litigation funding is an invisible force playing out behind the scenes in lawsuits large and small across the U.S. The judge and opposing counsel on a funded case are frequently not even aware of the financial dynamics underlying the matter. Indeed, in 2015 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn […]
Plaintiff Contingency Insurance Launched
The plaintiffs’ bar may find losing more affordable, following the recent introduction of contingency insurance that pays an attorney when they lose a case to a defense verdict. Level Insurance is a new Miami-based insurance agency behind the contingency insurance concept. Created by trial lawyers for plaintiffs and their attorneys, the firm’s “Litigation Cost Protection” […]
Workers’ Comp Insurance Panel News
Workers’ compensation panel counsel attorneys, workers’ comp insurance carriers and employers are closely following several precedent-setting court rulings across the country. Several notable news items from recent months are outlined below. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on April 12 struck down a provision of the state’s 2013 workers’ compensation reform effort. The Court ruled that the […]
Brexit and Lloyd’s Insurance Market
The British exit (Brexit) from the European Market, approved by the majority of voters in a June 23 referendum, has significant implications for the Lloyd’s insurance market. The immediate aftermath of the vote is market volatility, along with many unanswered questions about how Britain’s departure will take place and what the impact will be on […]
AIG Panel Counsel Program in Context
Insurance defense lawyers who are wondering how to get on the AIG panel counsel list may find it helpful to have some background on the firm, its lines of coverage, and recent strategic priorities. Currently, American International Group Inc. (AIG) is in the news because it is considered by the Federal Reserve Board to be […]
Liberty Mutual Launches Tech Venture Fund
Driverless cars, home automation and the gig economy are the focus of an investment fund launched by Liberty Mutual Global Markets, the personal insurance business division of the fifth largest U.S. property and casualty insurer based on 2015 direct written premiums. An investment pool of $150 million is available to Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures (LMSV) […]
